HELLYERS ROAD DISTILLERY NEWS

Icons of Whisky – Australia

9 August 2017

The inaugural Australian edition of the Icons of Whisky was held in Adelaide on Thursday 3 August.
Representatives of the Nation’s Whisky Industry gathered to celebrate Australian whisky and to find out the brands and people to be honoured as Whisky Icons for the coming year.
These awards are about the people and businesses that make the Whisky Industry great and for once, the products they produce took a back seat.
Hellyers Road Distillery received several nominations across a range of categories and it was our Burnie Visitor Centre that had the night’s spotlight firmly placed upon it.
Best Visitor Attraction was the first award that came our way. The Burnie Visitor Centre has grown in patronage and in reputation in the 11 years since it first opened its doors to the public in 2006. Around 16,000 people visited in the first year and in 2017 this number has grown to a whopping 40,000 per annum.
The Visitor Centre provides a range of different activities including; whisky tastings, guided distillery tours (Whisky Walks), a superb café featuring local produce and cellar door sales/gift shop. The café has for some time been rated Trip Advisor’s number one eatery in the region. The Centre welcome thousands of tourists each year many of whom make a pilgrimage from overseas to visit the home of their favourite tipple.
Congratulations to our Visitor Centre Team who work so hard to provide a wonderful experience for our guests!

Centre above are Sharon Deane and Mark Littler receiving the Award.

Hellyers Road wins State Export Award

11 October 2016

Burnie based Hellyers Road Distillery has been recognised as Tasmania’s Small Business Exporter of the Year at Austrade’s recent awards ceremony held in Hobart.

This award comes on the back of a stellar couple of years for the distillery which has seen overall export growth up by 150%, with its whiskies finding strong favour in Europe and Japan.

On accepting his company’s award, general manager and master distiller, Mark Littler said that the growth had come on the back of a lot of perseverance and hard work from many people.

“With our distribution footprint in Australia firmly planted we are now starting to make significant inroads in Europe and in the last 12 months Japan has also become a key player in our export growth. In Europe, our whiskies can now be found in 25 countries, thanks largely to the work of our French based distributors La Maison du Whisky and the agents they engage across the continent.

I recently returned from a trade visit to Europe and was delighted with the strong resonance our brand now holds with consumers and the trade. Tasmanian Whisky is very highly regarded and Hellyers Road Distillery whisky is becoming more and more sought after,” Mr. Littler said.

Mark and the Hellyers Road Team will now turn their attention to the National Export Awards to be held in Brisbane in late November. “All State winners automatically go into the National Final. We will be up against some stiff opposition but are hopeful Hellyers Road’s exciting overseas growth will hold it in good stead, “Mark Littler concluded.

Mark Littler accepts the award as Tasmania’s Small Business Exporter of the Year from category sponsor EFIC

Hellyers Road attends Whisky Live – Paris

10 October 2016

Last month master distiller, Mark Littler, attended Europe’s largest whisky event, Whisky Live-Paris which each year welcomes thousands of whisky devotees from across Europe. This was the fourth occasion since 2008 that Hellyers Road has been represented.

Whisky Live – Paris is managed by La Maison du Whisky, Hellyers Road’s distribution agents in Europe where the brand can now be found in over 25 countries. Much of the distillery’s double digit growth in Europe can be attributed to its presence at Whisky Live where the ‘New World’ Whisky Category stimulates a great deal of interest amongst patrons, especially a younger demographic. Joining Mark in Europe again were company chairman, Neville Latimer and fellow board members, Lesley French and Basil Shepherd.

“I get wonderful support from our board members who pay their own way to Europe each year on what they consider to be a ‘working holiday’. We get the chance to talk extensively with patrons during the course of the three day event. As much as the French love our whiskies, they also love the story behind our brand and the fact we come from a small island state in Australia. The event provides a platform to not only showcase our whiskies to thousands of people but to also promote Tasmania, its natural beauty and wonderfully pure environment. French culture is essentially built around a sense of provenance so our story really resonates,” Mark said.

Apart from attending Whisky Live, Mark and his intrepid board members undertook several distillery tours in Scotland before tackling a gruelling cross continent trip to visit distribution agents in Germany, the Czech Republic and Sweden. He also conducted several Whisky Master-Class sessions as well as promoting the HRD brand at Stockholm’s Whisky and Beer Festival.

“It was a very busy three weeks but it is important for Hellyers Road Distillery, and for the Tasmanian Whisky Industry, to continue the expansion of its international footprint, further build brand awareness and capitalise on the significant sales growth we are experiencing globally. It was also a great opportunity to tell people about our beautiful island state,” he concluded.

Local whisky ranked in world’s top ten

13 August 2015

On top of having its Pinot Noir Finish single malt whisky recognised as a Master Whisky in the recently announced Global Whisky Master Awards, Hellyers Road Distillery has this week been rated in the Top Ten – Value for Moneywhiskies in the world, placing it alongside some of the world’s biggest mass producing spirits brands.

The rankings have been released by London-based liquor industry publication, The Spirits Business, convenors of the Global Whisky Master Awards.

Master distiller, Mark Littler said this latest accolade for Hellyers Road was highly valued by the emerging brand.